Category: Cage Warriors

RAGED UK MMA September 3rd 2022 Full Results

Saturday, 3rd September 2022, RAGED UK MMA hosted their 15th event back at the MECA, Swindon, where it all began in 2009.


Saturday, 3rd September 2022, RAGED UK MMA hosted their 15th event back at the MECA, Swindon, where it all began in 2009.

Swindon fight fans were in for a great night of beautiful violence with a staggering 20 fights.

As with previous events, RAGED UK MMA held a live PPV on Fightworld TV for all of those who could not attend in person.

RAGED UK MMA had 15 Amateur fights to get the crowd started and, of course, for us [Media] to see the NEW athletes who will be making big statements in the near future. Two of last night’s amateur competitors won THE VACANT AMATEUR SUPER WELTERWEIGHT BELT and THE AMATUER LIGHT FEATHERWEIGHT BELT.

The 5 remaining bouts were The Professional Fights, with the final fight of action for THE VACANT PROFESSIONAL LIGHTWEIGHT BELT.

Complete Raged UK MMA Fight Results

AMATEUR BOUTS

Fight 1: Amateur 3×3 Heavyweight

Sam Marshall def Jordan Everett via TKO (GnP) 00:59 into the 3rd Round.

Fight 2: Amateur 3×3 Catchweight 

Stephen Todman def Jay Kerley via TKO 00:09 into the 1st Round

Fight 3: Amateur 3×3 Middleweight

Ceri Choron def Brad Livingstone via TKO (GnP) 00:50 into the 2nd Round

Fight 4: Amateur 3×3 Catchweight

Dan Bassett def Adam Kahlil via KO 1:53 into the 3rd Round

Fight 5: Amateur 3×3 Catchweight 

Dion Miles def Jon Hadley via TKO (GnP) 1:45 into the 1st Round

Fight 6: Amateur 3×3 Welterweight 

Sam Cooper def Jon Hunt via Submission (Triangle) 02:55 in the 1st Round

Fight 7: Amateur 3×3 Middleweight

Nathan Halton def Joe Wood via Unanimous Decision

Fight 8: Amateur 3×3 Catchweight 

Marian Sandu def Paddy Portsmouth via Submission (RNC) 01:31 in the 2nd Round

Fight 9: Amateur 3×3 Catchweight 

Raheem Joseph def George Birbeck via Submission (Kimura) 01:38 in the 1st Round

Fight 10: Amateur 3×3 Catchweight 

Rich Lukacs def Jacob Phibbs via Split Decision

Fight 11: Amateur 3×3 Welterweight

Charlie Phillips def Richard Nottingham via Doctor Stoppage (Cut to Forehead) 01:16 in the 1st Round

Fight 12: Amateur 3×3 Catchweight

Jordan Walters def Ben Bates via Fighter Injury (Broken Thumb) 01:08 in the 1st Round

Fight 13: Amateur 3×3 Lightweight

Ollie Wilde def Louie Cooke via Split Decision

Fight 14: Amateur 3×3 Vacant Raged Super Welterweight Title Fight 

Tyler James def John Watson via TKO (Punches) 01:21 in the 1st Round 

NEW SUPER WELTERWEIGHT CHAMPION – TYLER JAMES REPPING [EVOLVE, TORQUAY]

Fight 15: Amateur 3×3 Raged Light Featherweight Title Fight

Ieuan Mackenzie def Ruslan Vrabje (c) via Submission (RNC) 02:59 in the 1st Round

#ANDNEW LIGHT FEATHERWEIGHT CHAMPION – IEUAN MACKENZIE REPPING [CELTIC PRIDE MARTIAL ARTS, WALES]

PROFESSIONAL BOUTS

Fight 16: Pro 3×5 Lightweight 

Grant Ogbourne def Finley Mitchell via TKO (GnP) 01:59 in Round 1

Fight 17: Pro 3×5 Heavyweight

Luke Newland def Rob Peters via TKO (GnP) 01:25 in Round 1

Fight 18: Pro 3×5 Middleweight 

Craig Rawlins def Adam Chetnik via TKO (GnP) 01:34 in Round 1

Fight 19: Pro 3×5 Catchweight 

Chris Astley def Tyler Thomas via TKO (GnP) 03:15 in Round 1

Fight 20: Pro 3×5 Vacant Raged Lightweight Title Fight

Oscar Ownsworth def Bernie Gomm via TKO (GnP) 04:48 in the 1st Round

#ANDNEW LIGHTWEIGHT CHAMPION – OSCAR OWNSWORTH REPPING [AVT LEEDS]

RESULTS COMPILED BY GEORGE GOUGH

FOTN/SOTN/KO/TKO – BY GEORGE GOUGH

Please message Mark at Point 5 Photography on FaceBook or his website if you want to purchase a print of tonight’s fights.

I’ve decided to bring back ‘Honorary Fights’ of the night/Sub and KO/TKO

All these picks were by my colleauge George Gough for which I also fully support.

Sub of the Night goes to Raheem Joseph [Sweatbox/Bristol] for a slick Kimura

KO of the night goes to Dan Bassett [Evolve, Torquay] for a great KO

Fight of the Night goes to Nathan Halton Vs Joe Wood [Fightworx Academy, Torquay and [Range, Glos]

Now for a very special mention and this goes to Grant Ogbourne [Bristol], who was having his first professional fight after being an amateur for the last 4 years and having the WHOLE crowd on their feet with the 1969, Neil Diamond classic ‘Sweet Caroline’.

CW 142 results: Creasey, Elliott, and Favero steal the show

Cage Warriors’ return to Wales will be unforgettable with knockouts, submissions and stand out performances throughout the card.


By Kieran Cobley

Cage Warriors’ return to Wales will be unforgettable with knockouts, submissions and stand out performances throughout the card.

The main event saw Sam Creasey create history as he became the first man in the division to retain the flyweight title.

After a tumultuous wait to defend his belt, with his previous opponents, Luke Shanks and Dylan Hazan (who was unable to fight due to medical reasons) missed weight, Creasey finally got the chance to create history against challenger Stipe Brcic.

The 34 year old wasted no time picking up the win, dropping the Croatian in the first minute of the first round with a lead right hook before jumping on his opponent to lock in a high elbow guillotine to force the choke.

Creasey’s immediate future now looks uncertain; at 34 years old, the RGA Bucks fighter might struggle to receive a UFC call up, with Dana White and UFC matchmakers preferring younger talent, while in Cage Warriors, there is no definitive top contender following Aaron Aby’s loss earlier in the night and Dylan Hazan missing weight the last time he tried to get to 125lbs.

In the co-main event, Oban Elliott made sure the Welsh fans at the Ebbw Vale Sports Centre would leave with a smile as he put on the best performance of his career to beat former middleweight champion Matt Bonner.

In round one, Elliott would go straight for the kill, attacking Bonner with calf kicks and forcing him up against the cage, rattling the former middleweight champion with his tight knit boxing and forcing him to shoot for a takedown.

Round two started with Bonner coming out hyper aggressively to try and re-claw the first round, but Elliott weathered the storm and kept his composure.

The second half of round two was a different story. Elliott was rapidly slowing, and Bonner started landing heavier shots and forcing “The Welsh Gangster” into more uncomfortable positions, mainly at the end of his punches.

The question going into round three surrounded Elliott and his gas tank: had the early going taken too much out of him like it had in his two previous losses to Mike Figlak and Madars Fleminas, or could he stick it out?

As it turns out, Elliott could more than stick it out, putting Bonner on his back three times with takedowns and ensuring he landed enough strikes to make it an easy decision for the judges.

Elliott took a decisive win on the score cards, with all three judges scoring it 30-27 to the young welterweight.

Aaron Aby had the feel-good factor coming into CW 142. The Welsh flyweight had won eight of his last nine bouts, with his most recent two wins coming against a former flyweight champion, Samir Faiddine and former bantamweight title challenger, Gerardo Fanny, and not only that,  this was the first time in his career that he would be fighting on home soil.

Michelangelo Lupoli was tasked with ending that story and easily fulfilled that task.

Lupoli was causing Aby major issues with leg kicks on the feet, and when the Welshman could get the fight to the floor, Lupoli stopped any offence Aby had to offer.

In the end, Lupoli would take a unanimous decision win, with the judge’s scorecards reading: 30-27, 29-28 and 30-26.

Stephanie Evans and Jasmine Favero made their pro debuts at CW 142 in a rematch of their IMMAF fight from a couple of years ago in the women’s lightweight division.

Coming into the bout, Favero gave up a lofty six pound weight advantage to the Welsh fighter and looked noticeably smaller in the cage, but showed her opponent’s larger frame was no match for her technical ability.

Favero would judo throw Evans in round one and outclassed her on the feet two before finishing her in round two with some nasty close range boxing against the fence.

Lupoli and Favero could now find themselves looking at a fight on Cage Warriors’ first ever Italian card in Rome on 7th October after such impressive wins.

Luke Riley kept his undefeated record in the min card opener, knocking out Cherif Larossi in round two.

Round one saw Riley preview what was to come in round two, landing hard shots from the clinch and securing a takedown.

In round two, Riley showed his clinch is not somewhere you want to find yourself, rocking Larossi with hard knees to the head before executing a perfect boxing combination, finishing with a left hook to the body to put Larossi away.

On the prelims, Matty Byfield picked up a win in the heavyweight division after a suspect elbow knocked out Szymon Szynkiewicz, with action replays showing the final two elbows landing on the back of Szynkiewicz’s head.

George McManus would take his record to 3-3 after submitting Milton Alfonso Cabral in round one with a rear naked choke. At the same time, Owain Williams and Chris Bungard picked up decision wins in their promotional debuts against Sean McCormac and Erick Da Silva, respectively.

Cage Warriors returns on 23rd September with CW 143 in San Diego before heading back to Europe for CW 144 in Rome in early October.

Cage Warriors 142 Preview


By Kieran Cobley

Cage Warriors returns to Wales for the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic, taking over the Ebbw Vale sports centre with a night of great action.

Flyweight champion Sam Creasey (15-4, 5 KO/TKO, 6 Submissions) tops the bill as he looks to become the first man in Cage Warriors history to successfully defend the 125lbs title.

The champion takes on Stipe Brcic, a formidable Croatian fighter training out of Germany with a 10-2 record and six finishes to his name.

A win here for Creasey could see him take a significant step towards joining the UFC, but it has been a long wait for a title defence. The Bedfordshire fighter should have defended the title against the man he took the belt off, Luke Shanks, in December following a “phantom tap” incident in the first bout. Shanks knocked out Creasey in a rugged fashion but failed to take the strap home due to losing his battle with the scales.

Creasey was scheduled to take on a title defence, this time at Cage Warriors’ 20th Anniversary show in July, but Italian contender, Dylan Hazan, failed to make 125lbs, and Creasey opted to sit the fight out, having already fought opponents over the weight limit in his last two outings.

Expect fireworks in this one as both men look to prove their metal.

If Chris Jericho is the “Man of 1004 moves”, Oban Elliott is the “Man of 1004 nicknames”, and the Welsh hometown hero gets to put on a show in front of his fans against former middleweight champion Matthew Bonner.

“The Welsh Gangster” is taking a considerable step up in competition for this bout, having never faced a former CW champ before. Still, it should also be worth noting that in previous attempts to take a step up, he has been brought down by Mike Figlak and “The Latvian Express” Madars Fleminas.

Bonner was the breakout star of Cage Warriors’ Covid era, going from 6-6 to putting on dominating wins over George Smith, Matt Inman and former champion James Webb before submitting Nathias Frederick in the fourth round of their epic contest in 2021 to win the middleweight title.

Even in defeat, Bonner looked game against Djati Melan, almost stopping the Frenchman but ultimately coming just short, but since shrinking down, he has dominated once again.
Elliott’s boxing has been his strong suit in past fights, but when put against the striking of Matt Bonner, who trains with his brother Daniel (a world Muay Thai champion), “Angel Eyes” could find himself in hot water.

Both men have shown they can grapple with the best of them and possess suffocating top games, but this one will likely be a fist fight for the ages.

In the shark tank that is the Cage Warriors 170 lbs division, it’s unclear whether a win for either man would get them a title shot, with Justin Burlinson, Matt Figlak and Jimmy Wallhead all circling the champion, Rhys McKee.

Can “Evil” beat “The Beast”?

While Cage Warriors president, Graham Boylan, serves as the brains of Europe’s top promotion and matchmaker Ian Dean serves as the heart of CW, there can be no doubt about who embodies the spirit of Cage Warriors, Aaron Aby.

Aby (13-4-1, 1 KO/TKO, 5 Submissions) has overcome a battle with Leukemia and Cystic Fibrosis. This condition can be life shortening in many, to become one of the best 125lbs fighters in Europe.

The Wrexham native is on a run of two wins, with his latest coming in Manchester earlier this year at CW 136, where he forced former bantamweight title challenger and kickboxing ace, Gerardo Fanny, to submit to a Rear Naked Choke.

Michelanglo Lupoli (5-2, 2 KO/TKO) makes his promotional debut against Aby and will be looking to show the Welsh veteran up in front of his home crowd.

Aby’s ground game has been his strong suit, but only time will tell if he can implement his takedown and submission offence in combat with the Italian.

Luke Riley, the latest prospect to come out of the renowned Next Gen gym in Liverpool, will look to extend his unbeaten record to 4-0 on Saturday night.

The featherweight fighter took home the honours of being Cage Warriors’ breakout fighter of the year in 2021 and currently holds a 100% KO rate, partially down to his outstanding striking ability and conditioning.

At CW 136, Riley showed he could overcome adversity after being put on the backfoot against Jack Eglin before striking a KO blow.
Cherif Larossi (1-1, 1 Submission) steps in for Scott Pedersen and will hope to be the first man to blot Riley’s impressive record, but it will be an uphill battle after accepting the bout on short notice.

All the Cage Warriors 142 action will be live on UFC Fight Pass from 5.30 pm BST on Saturday.

Main Card

Sam Creasey vs Stipe Brcic – flyweight title bout

Matt Bonner vs Oban Elliott – welterweight bout

Michelangelo Lupoli vs Aaron Aby – flyweight bout

Luke Riley vs Cherif Larossi – featherweight bout

Jasmine Favero vs Stephanie Evans – lightweight bout

Prelims

Erick Da Silva vs Chris Bungard – 161lbs catchweight bout

Sean McCormac vs Owain Williams – middleweight bout

Milton Cabral vs George McManus – 174lbs catchweight bout

Matty Byfield vs Szymon Szynkiewicz – light heavyweight bout

Chris Duncan: From Adversity to Contender


This Tuesday, August 2nd, 2022, Chris Duncan will take another shot on ‘Dana White’s Contender Series, facing American Charlie “The Cannibal” Campbell.

“The Problem” first appeared on ‘DWCS’ on October 12th, 2021, when he faced Viacheslav Borshchev.

Duncan only started training in MMA 8 years ago at age 21 in Strathyre, Scotland, at MXP Fitness, after his mother would sneak him into boxing classes when he was younger against his grandparents’ wishes. However, his mum spotted early on that her son had a talent for fighting and went all the way out to support him. 

Fast forward eight years, the now 29-year-old athlete always knew that his first-ever job would have instilled a good work ethic within him.  

Working as a Shepard in Glen Lochay, Killin, back in 2013, Duncan’s week would revolve around working almost non-stop for six days, getting drunk on a Saturday night, feeling rough on a Sunday and then beginning the cycle again. Finally, feeling he was going down a slippery slope, Duncan decided to get fully involved with MMA, much to his mother’s joy, who was his biggest fan and cheerleader. 

Speaking with BBC Scotland sport, Duncan said, “When I didn’t have MMA, I needed to find something as I tended to find myself in bad situations; I would be fighting, drinking, doing stupid stuff and putting myself in stupid situations.” 

Duncan’s first amateur fight was booked for April 20th, 2014, for promotion, Scottish Fight Challenge; however, Duncan was informed that his mother Elaine had been murdered on the day of the weigh-in.

Duncan had just heard the most soul-destroying words to come out of someone’s mouth, let alone try to comprehend what they meant to him. But, instead of reacting with grief and fear, Duncan knew he had to carry on with the MMA event for the memory of his mum.

Stating that he had an epiphany about his mother’s death and how friends and relatives would say his mother would want him to keep going, he decided there and then to pursue MMA full time.

With fire in his soul, Duncan won his fight in 56 seconds of round 1 via ground & pound.

From this point on, something changed inside Duncan. “The Problem” had arrived.

Building up an amateur career of 8-1, Duncan chose to go into the paid ranks in 2018.

“Since I started MMA, I have never been in trouble with the police and not even got a speeding fine,” Duncan stated to BBC Scotland Sport.

“This isn’t just for money; this keeps me driven.”

This drive has taken Duncan to become one of Scotland’s top MMA athletes.

Going 3-0 on Scotland’s local circuit, Duncan got the chance to showcase his skills on a much bigger platform.  Bellator 217 Dublin.  Facing Irish prospect Sam Slater, Duncan got to work early and finished in 3 minutes, coming by TKO/KO.

In 2020, with a record of 4-0 and all those wins coming by way of finishes, it was only time Duncan was sought after by promotion Bellator and officially signed a contract with them.

After going 2-0 with Bellator and taking his overall record to 6-0, Duncan and Bellator partied ways amicably due to being unable to secure any fights; after all, we lived in the harshest conditions, and COVID-19 hit the world hard.

Although we were living in a new restrictive world, that didn’t bother Duncan as coming from a tough background, having grit, determination and going through the most challenging thing a person could ever go through, Duncan’s hard work shone through. He got a call to go to Las Vegas and try out for Dana White’s Contender Series.

Originally scheduled to compete on September 28th, that bout was cancelled, and Duncan was left waiting for a new opponent.  Having had two false starts on DWCS and making weight twice that same week, Duncan finally had an opponent and again made weight for the third time in a week and faced Viacheslav Borshchev on October 12th.

The then 7-0 prospect Chris Duncan was highly favoured against the 4-1 Team Alpha Male, Borshchev.

Despite a very competitive first round with both athletes having their fair share of the action, at 28 seconds of round two, Borshchev landed a clean left hook which laid Duncan flat out on the canvas.

And in turn, he handed Duncan his first professional loss and lost out on a lucrative contract with the UFC.

Not one to dwell on the past, the resilient and driven Chris Duncan made his way back home to Scotland to his girlfriend Laura and baby daughter Summer.

Not having to wait long before a new contract was offered to him with European promotion Cage Warriors on November 10th, Duncan didn’t hesitate to sign the contract.

However, Duncan never managed to put on the famous yellow gloves as he received a contract to appear in Dana White’s Contender Series.

Everything happens for a reason. It’s a time-old saying that “The Problem” has been dealt with in his life thus far, knowing that his mum is always with him on fight week, carrying a pendant on a chain with her fingerprint and wedding ring.  

Chris Duncan, now 8-1, is looking forward to showing the world the fighter he can be by firmly cementing his name on Dana White’s lips.

Look out for Chris Duncan’s headlined bout tonight (02/08/22) on UFC Fight pass.

“My time is now to become Cage Warriors lightweight champion.” – Jai Herbert


Jai Herbert with Cage Warriors lightweight belt
Jai Herbert with Cage Warriors lightweight belt Credit: Cage Warriors

Originally posted on 5th June 2019

It’s 6 am on a cold winters morning when the alarm clock goes off.  Jai Herbert wearily turns off the alarm, gets out of bed, and heads out to start another day in his physically demanding job as a scaffolder.  Jai has been a scaffolder for the past fourteen years, working all over Britain.

Come 5 pm, Jai is back at home managing a quick cup of coffee before heading out again, this time heading off to the gym for a good 3 to 4-hour session.  Not for a casual workout, but for a full-on training session in Boxing, Kickboxing, Muay Thai, Jiu-jitsu or a cardio session – (depending on what day it is).  You see, Jai Herbert is also an elite professional athlete in mixed martial arts while working a full-time job.

The 31-year-old who lives in Wolverhampton has only been competing in mixed martial arts (MMA) for the past seven years.  Having won the amateur Combat Challenge British welterweight belt, and the BCMMA lightweight belt, Jai racked up an impressive record of 9-1 before deciding to go professional in March 2015.  “At the amateur level, I fought all bar one of my fights at welterweight” Jai explains.  “I never had to cut weight and didn’t see the point of putting my body through the strain at amateur level”.

Jai, who started training out of Wolfpack MMA in Wolverhampton and still does his strength and conditioning with John Ashley, has now made a move over to Renegade JiuJitsu in Birmingham under the tutelage of UFC athlete Tom Breese, to help improve the jiu-jitsu and wrestling aspect of his game. “It’s been a great move to Renegade Jiu-Jitsu. I get to roll and wrestle with Tom [Breese] a lot and with top athletes such as Leon Edwards (UFC) and Fabian Edwards (Bellator).  They have brought my game on leaps and bounds” said Jai.  “I also train at Firewalker Martial Arts where I do my striking such as Kickboxing and Boxing with Joeby Clayton.”

Currently on a four-fight winning streak, with his only loss coming in the way of a KO via Rhys McKee when he fought for the BAMMA lightweight title, Jai is no stranger to hard fights.  His first fight since signing with European promotion Cage Warriors was against hard-hitting Erdi Karatas, where he won via Unanimous Decision, and it is the only fight of his career thus far to have gone the distance. His next opponent was Joe Mccolgan which Jai dispatched of in two minutes of the first round. Then, on March 2nd, 2019, Jai had the task of facing veteran MMA athlete Steve O’Keefe, who resume consists of Artem Lobov, Conor McGregor and Chris Goldfish to name a few who had gone on to compete in the UFC.  Again, Jai dispatched of O’Keefe within 4 minutes of the first round.

It was at this point Jai knew he would be next in turn to compete for the vacant lightweight title. “I knew I was going to get the shot to be honest” recalls Jai “It was the day after I fought with Steve O’Keefe I got a text to say Graham wants you to fight Jack Grant for the title and I was like yeah, sweet, when?” said Jai. “I knew it was going to happen as Jack was next in line to compete for the title, so I knew it would be him and me.”

With the date set as June 29th, 2019 at Eventim Apollo, London, Cage Warriors will be hosting their 106th event billed as “Night of Champions”, where Jai will take on Jack for the vacant lightweight title.  “Jack is a top fighter, he is outstanding on the ground, and he has good stand up too along with being powerful. However, I feel I am the best striker in the division.  It is going to be a great fight; I’m going to get my hand raised, and it won’t be going five rounds.”

With Cage Warrior’s emphasis on fighter safety, all professional athletes must be SAFE medical checked, which includes costly MRI scans along with blood work. To help with these costs, Jai’s dad has helped with some of the medical expenses. However, Jai is still looking for additional sponsors to help him achieve the goal of being able to concentrate on being a full-time professional athlete, rather than only dedicating part of himself to his craft when he can train and wanting to reach his full potential.  Jai would ideally like to give up work and train full time.  If you feel you can help this young, gifted athlete out, please get in touch with him on either of the platforms mentioned below.

Jai would like to thank his current sponsor Animosity Fight Gear UK, all his training partners and his girlfriend Jaye Haynes, who helps him prepare for his fights.

You can reach Jai on the following social media platforms:

Facebook: Jai Herbert MMA

Instagram: @jai_herbert_mma

“Cage Warriors is the show where I’m going to make my comeback and win the welterweight title.” – Tom ‘Kong’ Watson


Originally posted on 8th April 2019

Tom 'Kong' Watson
Tom ‘Kong’ Watson

Born and raised in Southampton, England, Tom Watson first started in combat sports at the age of 16, when he took up boxing.  A three-time ABA Southern Counties Champion and being awarded ‘Amateur boxing standout of the year’ in 2006 was his introduction into mixed martial arts.

Watson made his professional mixed martial arts debut on 19th February 2006 for a local show at the Copthorne Hotel and Resort in London. On ‘ZT Fight Night 1’ where he won via Guillotine choke in 71 seconds, he returned on the show’s second instalment on June 25th the same year where he won via decision.

In 2007, Watson competed in five fights for UK promotion Cage Rage gaining a record of two wins and three losses.  From 2008 – 2012 Watson fought a further twelve times for promotions Cage Rage, AFC, UCMMA (formerly Cage Rage), MFC and BAMMA.  With his sole loss to Jesse Taylor at MFC 26, Watson picked up the inaugural UCMMA middleweight title along with the BAMMA middleweight title when he fought Jack Marshman at BAMMA 9.

With news that Watson has signed to elite European promotion Cage Warriors and will be facing Aaron ‘King’ Khalid at Cage Warriors 104 on April 27th, 2019 in Cardiff, it was only fitting that I should re-introduce ‘Kong’ to the world.

You’d be forgiven if you are not familiar with Tom ‘Kong’ Watson as of late, with his last competitive fight being on August 8th, 2015 for the UFC.  Spending three years with the world’s number one promotion in the UFC, Watson had two wins and five losses (with those losses coming by way of decisions) for the UFC taking his overall record to 17-9.

Watson was not done with competing and was still actively seeking opportunities to fight in the UFC.  Having no success, Watson was released by the UFC and continued to explore roles outside of the UFC, doing some commentary jobs here and there.  It was at this point that promotion BAMMA contacted Watson regarding doing some presenting and commentary jobs for them. They also wanted Watson (who had been with BAMMA since their first event up until he signed to the UFC) to compete again for them. This news was music to Watson’s ears as he had not hung up his gloves and retired as many people thought due to his 3-year absence from the sport.

Unfortunately, due to issues out of Watson’s control, BAMMA was no longer a viable option as a promotion to make his long-awaited come back on. Instead, elite European promotion Cage Warriors signed Watson in the welterweight division (Watson previously competed in the middleweight division) in January of 2019.

Watson trains predominately at his state of the art gym called ‘Analysis’ which is located right next to him in Southampton, and with the occasional odd trip back to California to train. Watson is already preparing hard for his upcoming bout for his Cage Warriors debut.

Deciding to cut down to welterweight was an easy decision for Watson. He stated that “quite a few people had told me that I should have been a welterweight when I competed in the UFC as I never really cut any weight.  When I look back on my career I do wonder if 170lb was the weight, I should have been competing at, so this is an attempt to test out that theory.”

Not content with winning a UCMMA (formally known as Cage Rage) and BAMMA title, Watson has made it very clear that the aim is to win the Cage Warriors welterweight title stating “I’m not coming here to have a bit of fun or have a couple of fights.  I’m coming here to pick up another title to add to the two other titles I have held.  I don’t know if there is anybody that has all of those titles, so that is my goal.”

With his first love being boxing Watson is in the middle of applying of getting his trainers license as he has a few guys who are looking to make their pro boxing debut so he can be in their corner.

/With the legalisation of Bare Knuckle Boxing, Watson has a couple of guys that he trains. Watson stated “it is not something that interests me, I do like the idea of fighting without gloves more than with gloves, I think gloves are probably less safe, and bare-knuckle is safer. It’s a big misconception that people think Bare Knuckle Boxing is more dangerous.  I’d say it is a lot safer as you can’t do much damage as you break your hands more and you don’t have this protection and mould on your fist to keep punching the shots away.  I will say though on bare-knuckle when they wear the wraps; I think it’s like wearing gloves and its worse, so to me, bare-knuckle boxing should be basically without wraps or anything.”

Going back to his time with the UFC, Watson stated “ I competed against the best in the world, and I have never got finished by any of them, only losing by decisions. Quite a few were controversial decisions at best for me.  Fighting is fighting and if you are losing a decision sport contest– well I’ve said it before, in the UFC I don’t really see that as losing, just the system and the setup. For instance, if we changed the UFC fight to a no time limit would of I lost any of those fights? I doubt it.  It is what it is, that’s the rules you play by.  Strategy wise I probably didn’t fight too smart. If you look at the earnings of the people in the UFC, I’m still relatively high up there, and I didn’t win many fights, so, on that basis, well it was smart – possibly.”

For those of you that have followed Watson’s career from the beginning, you will recall Watson enters the cage wearing a gorilla mask, hence why he has the nickname ‘Kong’. As Watson made his last appearance for the UFC in 2015, a new British fighter in the name of Darren ‘The Gorilla’ Till was making his debut for the promotion. “I’m not bothered by Darren Till” Watson states, “I believe Dan Hardy gave him the nickname ‘Gorilla’, it is what it is. I think everyone knows ‘Kong’ more than Darren Till’s ‘The Gorilla’.

“Darren Till is a great fighter, but I don’t think he is synonymous with a Gorilla.”

“Cage Warriors is the show where I’m going to make my comeback and win the welterweight title.”

With his debut for his Cage Warriors bout being dubbed ‘King’ vs ‘Kong’, there will only one way to find out if this is the start of a resurgence for Tom ‘Kong’ Watson by tuning into Cage Warriors 104 on April 27th live on UFC Fight Pass.

Cage Warriors Wales Academy – Full Results


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Cage Warriors Wales Academy came from Ebbw Vale leisure centre in Wales last night, headlined by Mason Jones and Craig Edwards.  Also on the line were three amateur title belts.

PRO MMA

Mason Jones defeated Craig Edwards via submission (rear-naked choke) Round 3

AMATEUR MMA TITLE BOUTS

CAGE WARRIORS ACADEMY WALES AMATEUR MIDDLEWEIGHT TITLE
Christian Duncan defeated Greg Cuthbert via submission (rear-naked choke) Round 2

Christian Duncan is the NEW CWAW Amateur Middleweight Champion

CAGE WARRIORS ACADEMY WALES AMATEUR WELTERWEIGHT TITLE
Josh Hudson vs. Oban Elliott majority draw. Oban Elliot wins via TKO in extra round

Oban Elliott is the NEW CWAW Amateur Welterweight Champion

CAGE WARRIORS ACADEMY WALES AMATEUR LIGHTWEIGHT TITLE
Jordan Peake defeated Cameron Clarke via unanimous decision

Jordan Peake is the NEW CWAW Amateur Lightweight Champion

AMATEUR MMA BOUTS
Muhammed Shazlee defeated Keiron Bennett via submission (armbar) Round 1

Ben Ellis defeated Sami Hashim via submission (rear-naked choke) Round 1

Jahmel Westcarr defeated Alex Ianculescu via unanimous decision

James Price defeated Liam Casey via submission (armbar) Round 3

Ashley Amos defeated Krzysztof Gagala via submission (rear-naked choke) Round 1

Aaron Peterson defeated Toby Warner via KO (punch) Round 3

Rob Bennett defeated Franco Tenaglia via submission (arm triangle) Round 2

Shaun Powell defeated Sean Scrivens via split decision

Chris Sterling defeated Nathan Gregory via submission (rear-naked choke) Round 1

Shea Evans defeated Owain Davies  via submission (triangle choke) Round 3

Owain Williams defeated Rafael Neuberg via TKO (Punch) Round 1

Glenn Williams defeated Henrijs Burka via unanimous decision

Kenzie Jones defeated Josh Hutchinson via TKO Round 2

Elis Westacott defeated Kacper Kzdunczyk via unanimous decision

 

“When I win Cage Warriors gold the UFC have got to see that my age is not a factor” – Scott Clist


This interview was conducted back in June 2016 and featured in the July/August issue of MMA Uncaged Magazine.

“Age is just a number. I will be in the UFC by the end of the year”

London, 2002 and the UFC held its first event outside of the United States for UFC 38. ‘Brawl at the Hall’ was held inside the iconic Royal Albert Hall.  Headlined by UFC Hall of Fame veteran Matt Hughes and Carlos Newton. Also on the main card was a 36-year-old Ian Freeman who faced and beat a 23-year-old Frank Mir by TKO, proving that ‘age is just a number’.

Fast forward to April 15, 2016, when European Promotion Cage Warriors returned home to London and held its 75th event.  Making his debut for the promotion was 38-year-old Scott ‘The Priest’ Clist facing 25-year-old Brad ‘The Crazy Kid’ Wheeler. Clist was the heavy underdog and after weathering an early storm where it looked like Wheeler was going to submit him in the opening minutes, Clist gained control of the fight (with 30 seconds to go) landing a head kick followed by a right hook which knocked Wheeler to the canvas against the cage and began to unleash a barrage of punches (16) only for the klaxon to sound the end of the round.

It was in-between rounds that Wheeler’s corner retired him from the fight as he had taken too much damage, declaring Clist victorious by way of TKO at the end of round one. Proving yet again ‘age is just a number’.

“Age is just a number. I will be in the UFC by the end of the year”

Born and raised in Bridgwater, Somerset but now residing in Trowbridge, Wiltshire, the nightclub manager first started out in the world of Martial Arts at the tender age of 5.

“My dad would get me and my brother to throw punches and box train with him. He would show us how to twist our hips with the punches and lead with a jab” Clist recalls of his fond childhood memories. After briefly flirting with Karate, Clist settled on Kickboxing where he would start his Martial Arts career and held British titles in kickboxing and full contact Tae kwon do.

Clist was first introduced to Mixed Martial Arts by a colleague whilst he was working in Swindon as a barman at the age of 19. A doorman he knew lent him 3 video’s called “UFC” and after watching them decided he wanted to give MMA a try.

“After watching the ‘UFC’ video’s I attended my first MMA class which was also run by the same doorman who gave me the video’s.  ‘Oz’, Michael Osbourne at ‘SVT’ Swindon Vale Tudo.  Although I really enjoyed the class due to my working schedule at the time I couldn’t commit to it.”

After spending some time training in different Martial Arts and balancing a full time job, Clist found classes run by Tony Childs who was teaching San Shou, JKD, Combat Submission Wrestling and Escrima to add to his Kickboxing and Tae kwon do background.

Finally, after experiencing success in teaching kickboxing, Clist decided it was time to open up his own gym.  In March 2008 The Revolution Gym in Trowbridge was born, all the while still competing as an amateur mixed martial artist himself from 2006 – 2009. In 2010 Clist turned pro finishing his first five opponents within two rounds. Although picking up his first pro MMA loss in 2013 to Dan Rushworth, that fight earned him fight of the night honours. Winning his next fight Clist then entered an 8-man tournament.

“I had no emotion in the lead up to the event and was spending a large amount of time teaching instead of focusing on my own training. Ali Maclean tapped my out with a north and south choke 4:34 seconds into the first round. It was the only time I had been stopped as a pro fighter. I was gutted.”

“It was after this fight that I realised I needed to focus on my own training so I shut down my gym and moved over to Dragonslair MMA in Melksham home to UFC athlete Bradley Scott.”

Scott 1
Photo Credit Adrenalin Fight Night

Now [10-2] as a pro and with the help and guidance of Head Coach Stu Pike at Dragonslair MMA, Clist is currently on a three fight win streak after winning his last fight against Brad Wheeler at Cage Warriors 75 where he was very much the underdog on that card.

“I kept the fight standing for a while and me and Brad traded some shots until I threw a kick and he caught it. Brad got the takedown but I managed to get back to my feet only for brad to get a deep double leg and take me down again, his ju jitsu is sleek and he managed to get my back and sink in the body lock quickly. I went into autopilot and 2 on 1 defence. I had done this so many times in the gym that I was never really worried about getting tapped, I just had to get the lock off. I tried putting pressure on Brad’s ankle but that didn’t work so I had to defend and try to turn into him but like I said Brad’s BJJ is something else and trying to get someone as good as he is off you is not the easiest thing.

“After a few mins spent on the defensive I felt the lock loosen so I stepped over his leg to avoid him getting it locked back in, I turned quickly and we got back to our feet.

“I threw a good uppercut to the body and Brad backed off. I saw my opportunity and threw the head kick followed by the right hook.

I saw brad fall and started throwing down some serious ground and pound. I could hear his corner shouting “10 seconds, hold on Brad”. I kept throwing punches thinking the ref has got to stop it but he didn’t and the buzzer sounded for the end of the round. Brad’s corner retired him in between rounds which gave me a TKO win coming at 5 mins of round one.”

The fight Clist had with Wheeler was originally scheduled for a lightweight bout but got changed to a catch weight bout a few days before. So will we be seeing Clist again in the lightweight division?

“I would like to fight against top 10 opponents. A fight with Chris Fishgold would be interesting and a fight against Andre Ward would make for a great fight. I aim to Keep growing as a fighter and I am in the right place and working with the right people to do that and keep winning. I want to be a successful UFC fighter.  I don’t just want to make it into the UFC, I will make it into the UFC and get some good wins.”

With a nickname ‘The Priest’ I did however wonder how it came about.

“My first sponsor gave me that name.   I told him he could pick my ring name.  He had just watched The Davinci Code on dvd and decided I looked like the psycho killer from the film (blonde hair, white skin) so he said it was great to call me The Priest. I kept it because it caught on after my first fight.”

As with any interview, I ask if Scott has anyone he would like to thank.

“Firstly, my wife and daughter as they put up with me missing time spent with them, being tired from training and weight cutting etc. I would like to thank my coaches Stu Pike, Bradley Scott for making me a better fighter. My boxing and s+c coaches Mark Kent and Smudger at contender gym. My teammates who let me learn and let me be part of their learning. Stu Mourant for making a massive difference and opening doors. My sponsors for helping me with fuelling my body, BadBoy Supplements (kalv Singh) and financially Nacho Cheese, Richard Henley (Heating and plumbing), Darryl Moore (Carpentry) and a massive thank you goes out to all my friends and supporters”.

You can follow Scott Clist’s journey on the following media sites.

https://www.facebook.com/scott.clist

Twitter

@scottThePriestclist

By Emma Bramford

Cage Warriors Academy Wales – Full Results


cage warriors academy wales

Cage Warriors Academy Wales came live from The Newport Centre, Wales tonight March 4th.

Boasting a fight card with 18 fights, including twelve amateur undercard fights and six professional main card fights, it was the fans who were in for a treat this evening.

 

Main Card Professional Results

Aaron Khalid defeated Phil Wells via Submission (Guillotine Choke) :56 round 2
Jack Shore defeated Alexandros Gerolimatos via Submission (Rear-naked Choke) 2:03 round 1
Richard Williams defeated Gracjan Bak via KO :59 round 1
Damo Weeden defeated Joe Orrey via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) :39 round 1
Josh Ellis defeated Daniel Hodor via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) 4:05 round 2
Ethan Charlesworth defeated Nathan Ford via Submission (Triangle) 1:53 round 1

Undercard – Amateur MMA

Josh Hudson defeated Jack Tucker via Unanimous Decision
Michael Corston defeated Christopher Radcliffe via Majority Decision
Pedro Cardosa defeated Tom Karpinski via Unanimous Decision
Rob Bennett defeated Marcus Stevens via Split Decision
James Amos defeated Sami Hashim via Unanimous Decision
Christian Duncan defeated James McClean via TKO 1:25 round 1
Chris Smith defeated Keiron Bennet via Submission (Rear-naked Choke)  2:50  round 2
Oban Elliot defeated Callum Hanman via KO (head kick) :46 round 1

Ben Ellis defeated Franco Tenaglia via TKO 2:05 round 3
Jamie Boyle defeated Ragine White via Submission (head and arm choke) :58  round 2
Alun Yhnell defeated Karl Redding via KO :59 of round 1
Joel Collins defeated Chris Mardon via Split Decision

Cage Warriors 81 – Full Results


Cage Warriors 81 came live from the 3Arena in Dublin tonight, March 4th for the vacant Light-Heavyweight title between Karl Moore who faced Josh Clark.

Also on the card saw the return of Catherine Costigan who faced hard-hitting Wendy McKenna in an Atomweight bout.

 

Full Results – Main Card

 

[Light-Heavyweight Title]  Karl Moore* defeated Josh Clark via Unanimous Decision (49-45,50-44,50-42)

*NEW LIGHT-HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION

[Atomweight] Catherine Costigan defeated Wendy McKenna via Split Decision (29-28,29-28,28-29)

[Lightweight]  Arnold Quero defeated Joel McColgan via SD (30-27,29-28,29-28)

[Welterweight] Hakon Foss defeated Martyn Harris via RNC 3:38 round 1

[Bantamweight] Blain O’Driscoll defeated Darren O’Gorman via KO 3:22 round 2

Prelim Card

[Catchweight] Eric Nolan defeated Marcin Zemballa via unanimous decision

[Welterweight] Maciej Gierszewski defeated Romain Bidet via TKO 4:13  round 1

Amateur Prelim Card

[Welterweight] Ivan Blanita defeated Gary Coffey via unanimous decision

[Featherweight] Pawel Politylo defeated Alex Yankov via unanimous decision

[Welterweight] Mark Gallivan defeated Makinde Adeyemi via Submission (Triangle Choke)  1:46  round 2

[Lightweight] Stephen Treacy defeated Francis Treacy via TKO 2:50 round 1

[Bantamweight] Austin Lynch defeated Alex Brophy via TKO 1:04 round 1

[Featherweight] Mateusz Kopyto defeated Colm O’Regan via unanimous decision

[Lightweight] Adam Darby defeated Leon Hill via unanimous decision

[Catchweight] Barry Hanna v Matthew Whyte